CHICO — Derrek Gordon was counting the days until he could step foot in Chico High's gym again.

His homecoming didn't disappoint.

Gordon, who was one of three Panthers to leave the team last year in a high-profile dispute over playing time, donned Oroville purple on Tuesday night and scored a game-high 16 points, leading the Tigers over his former club, 58-50 to keep Chico winless at home.

"I'm glad we beat these dudes. I've been working almost a year, thinking about it every day," Gordon said. "I'm just glad we came out with the win."

There didn't appear to be any hard feelings between Gordon and his former teammates, and even when he was fouled hard at the end of the game by Uvonte Person, trying to stop Gordon from capping off the game with a fast-break dunk, Person helped him up and the two shook hands. It was a signature win for the Tigers (15-4, 2-0 Eastern Athletic League), who got 12 points from Eric Laster, 11 from Kahliel Wyatt and 10 from James Jones, coming up with tough defense down the stretch to keep the Panthers (11-9, 1-2 EAL) without a victory in The Pit this season.

"It means we're taking another step to that league title," Gordon said. "This was a big game for us. ... Every game we're getting better and better, and we've got to do it."

It was the Tigers' first win over the Panthers since the 2006-07 season, when Oroville beat Chico 74-72.

Oroville never trailed after the midway point of the third quarter, even despite a flurry at the end of the period from the Panthers. Angel Roldan, who had 13 points for Chico, beat the quarter's buzzer with a 3-pointer after a Hunter Mootz layup, and that cut the game to a two-point lead, but the Panthers got no closer. They went just 2 of 10 from the field and 4 of 10 from the free-throw line in the final period; meanwhile, Wyatt's length and aggressiveness got him eight points from the line in the second half, six of them in the fourth quarter. The Tigers were whistled for an intentional foul with 3:53 to go, with the score 50-48, but the Panthers couldn't take advantage. Oroville closed the game on an 8-2 run, keyed by a spinning Gordon layup through the Chico defense.

"He's been talking about coming back here since the first day of practice," Oroville coach Robert Anderson said. "Not looking for revenge, but saying, 'You know what, things didn't work out here but it's been working out for me in Oroville now. Here you go. Here's what I've got to show you guys.'"

Chico was without 6-foot-5 center Clayton Welch, who didn't dress. An important piece on both ends of the floor for the Panthers conspicuously missing — Chico coach Kirk Bruchler declined comment — the hosts leaned on forward Devin Bauer for their post production, and he filled in admirably with 14 points. But he ran into foul trouble in the middle quarters, and that, combined with Welch's absence, left the Tigers more free to attack the rim against a suddenly much smaller lineup.

"They're really strong with the ball, they drive really hard and they have really good chemistry, I noticed," Bauer said of the victors. "(Wyatt) and Derrek worked well together. We knew it was going to be tough going in, because we all know how he plays."

Chico shot just 32 percent from the field, including a nightmarish 4-for-19 performance in the second quarter that arguably set the tone for the second half, and also struggled at the free-throw line with a 10-for-19 (53 percent) mark. The Tigers ultimately won the game shooting charities — they went 22 of 32 (69 percent) from the stripe. Oroville won its third straight, moving to the top of the EAL standings in the league's infant stages. On the other hand, it was the second straight game in which Chico was burned by a player on the 2012-13 Panther roster; they've now lost six of their last seven, including three of four to Northern Section opponents.

"We've just got to figure it out, go harder in practice and come back again," Roldan said. "We're having a rough stretch, but it all starts in practice. We didn't have the crisp passes, the focus that we are supposed to have. (Oroville) played a good game, they had extra fire to them, and I give the credit to them. But we've got to come back ready."

The Tigers will host rival Las Plumas on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., while Chico prepares for a Feb. 4 home contest against Paradise.